CHAPTER 19
I arranged the study room to resemble a classroom from the academy.
A big chalkboard, wide desks fit for a child.
And I even wore glasses to try and give off a more “teacher-like” vibe.
Holding a pointer stick, I said to Aslan,
“Alright, from now on, you’ll call Mommy ‘Teacher’ in this classroom.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
Aslan shouted brightly.
Somehow, I had a good feeling about today right from the start.
I wrote the alphabet on the board—these letters formed the basis of reading and writing in this world.
Luckily, this world’s language used an alphabet system similar to the one I knew, though the pronunciation was slightly different.
“Okay, Aslan. Today, we’re going to learn the alphabet.”
“What’s the alphabet?”
“They’re the basic building blocks of writing.”
Aslan tilted her head but quickly smiled as if she got it.
“I don’t really get it, but okay!”
…It’s fine if she doesn’t understand yet!
That’s what I’m here for—to teach her!
I pointed to the large “A” on the board.
“This letter is pronounced ‘Ah.’ Try saying it.”
“Ah!”
“Good! Now the next letter. This one is ‘Beh.’”
“Beh!”
I went down the list, pointing at each letter and telling her how to pronounce them.
Aslan repeated after me eagerly.
We went through all 26 letters aloud.
“This is easier than I thought! Could it be my daughter’s a genius?”
A smile crept onto my face.
Maybe she could learn all the letters by the end of today.
I pointed back to “A” and asked,
“Okay, what’s this one called again?”
“O!”
Aslan proudly shouted the wrong answer.
“…Huh? What did you say?”
“O!”
Once again, her voice echoed through the study room—wrong.
I was startled, but okay, this was within expectations.
“Right, how could she possibly learn the entire alphabet in one day?”
Teaching children takes patience—and more patience.
I forced a smile and corrected her gently.
“I said it’s pronounced ‘Ah,’ remember?”
“Oh, right! Ah!”
“Good, good. Now, what about this one?”
I pointed to the letter B.
And Aslan responded with…
“Poo!”
“…”
We’d barely been at it for ten minutes.
But why? How?
“No way… Is my kid… a dummy?”
No, that can’t be! Aslan was so smart when she was a cat!
To hide my trembling eyes, I lowered my head.
My shoulders were shaking, which Aslan misinterpreted, asking in an excited voice,
“Did I get it right this time?”
Oh no! I can’t let her memorize the wrong pronunciations!
I quickly raised my head and corrected her.
“No! It’s pronounced ‘Beh’!”
Aslan pouted deeply.
“But it sounded like ‘Poo’…”
“Mom never taught you that!”
I was losing my mind!
Surely she hadn’t misremembered all the other letters too… right?
“A-Aslan, this one?”
“Cee!”
“No! It’s ‘Seh!’ Okay, this one!”
“Doong.”
“How does that look like ‘Doong’?! I said it’s ‘Deu!’”
I was going insane!
As I became more flustered, Aslan started getting irritated too, puffing out her cheeks.
Despite my desperate wish that she’d at least remember one letter correctly on her first day, Aslan couldn’t recall a single one from A to Z!
I couldn’t believe it. My child… really might be a fool.
No—no, wait.
As I fell into despair, Aslan seemed equally frustrated by getting every answer wrong.
She gave me a classic annoyed-cat glare, then suddenly jumped away from her desk.
“Mommy’s a terrible teacher! I don’t want to learn from you anymore!”
“A-Aslan!”
Before I could catch her, she leapt out the window into the garden.
Even from the second floor, Aslan landed gracefully on all fours—true to her former cat self—and stuck her tongue out at me before dashing away.
And so began the chase.
But five years of living like a noblewoman had completely ruined Minerva’s once-excellent body.
There was no way I could catch up with her.
By dinnertime, with the help of the household staff, we finally declared a truce.
“Ugh, my poor joints…”
I collapsed into a chair in the dining room with the support of our butler, Louisa, and the head maid, Jane.
Meanwhile, Aslan looked fresh as ever after running around all day.
“Mommy, let’s play tag again tomorrow! Studying’s boring.”
“That… wasn’t tag. And we have to study…”
“But Mommy’s bad at teaching.”
Grrr… damn it.
Aslan’s suspicious glare pierced me.
Am I really that bad at teaching?
I mean, I used to dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher!
After dinner, I finally felt like I’d regained some energy.
As for Aslan, she began nodding off—probably tired from running all day.
Her head nearly plopped down into her plate.
Oh no—
I quickly reached out and caught her forehead before it hit the dish.
Supporting her head, I gently waved my hand in front of her face.
“Aslan, time to sleep in bed.”
“Mmm… Too lazy…”
“Sigh, guess I’ve got no choice.”
I was exhausted too, but I needed to carry her myself.
I got up and scooped Aslan into my arms.
“Mmm…”
She snuggled into my neck like a little kitten, letting out a happy little giggle.
Sigh…
It was impossible to stay mad at her.
I carried her to my bedroom.
After gently laying her in bed, I collapsed beside her, completely drained.
“How long has it been since I ran around like that?”
That little rascal said she wanted to study, and then ran away. I was exhausted.
Still, watching her peacefully sleeping face—it looked so angelic that none of it seemed to matter anymore.
As I softly patted her tummy, I thought,
“Maybe the teaching method really didn’t suit her today.”
She’s such an energetic child—there’s no way she could sit still at a desk all day and learn.
I needed to teach in a way that matched her level.
Come to think of it, how do kids usually learn letters for the first time?
“Ah!”
Then it hit me.
A perfect idea.
If I used this method, Aslan would have fun while learning letters too.
The next morning at breakfast.
Aslan, clearly having a good appetite, clumsily held her fork and devoured her salmon steak.
I spoke to her in the gentlest voice, trying to ease her guard.
“Aslan~?”
But without even glancing my way, she warned me:
“I’m not studying with Mommy.”
So quick to pick up on things… That’s Aslan for you.
“But there’s no way she’ll say no to this.”
My smile was starting to twitch, but I didn’t give up.
“We’re not going to study today. We’re going to play.”
“Play?”
Finally, Aslan looked up and met my eyes.
Her eyes sparkled.
Got her.
I smiled sweetly and nodded.
“Yep! Super fun game. But if you don’t want to play with Mommy, I guess that’s fine…”
“No! I’ll do it! I wanna play with Mommy!”
Bingo. As expected, Aslan was simple and easy to lure in.
Caught in my trap like a fish to bait.
Still smiling innocently, I placed a big chunk of salmon into her mouth.
“Here, eat up quickly, and let’s go play with Mommy.”
“Mm! I’ll finish in no time!”
Hehe… Sweet, naïve Aslan.
My smile turned ever so slightly wicked.
Aslan, too busy stuffing her face with food, didn’t notice at all.
“Hehe, playing, playing~ Playing with Mommy~”
She must really love playing.
Aslan held my hand tightly and bounced along happily, even singing as we walked.
In her bright, childlike voice, she asked,
“Mommy, what are we gonna play? Hunting game? Climbing game? Tag?”
“You’ll see once we’re there.”
At last, we arrived at our destination.
Aslan noticed something strange and asked,
“Huh? Mommy, this is…”
“Let’s go in, shall we?”
Before she could run, I flung the door open and gently pushed her inside.
Bang.
The door to the study room slammed shut behind her.
I stood against it to block her escape, grinning at her.
“Take a seat, Miss Aslan.”
“…!”
The betrayal must’ve hit hard—Aslan stood there stunned, betrayed to the core.
But of course, Aslan wasn’t the type to just sit quietly even when tricked.
She quickly snapped out of it and started yelling at me.
“You said we were playing! You said it! Mommy’s a liar!”
